More Storms and a Leaky Basement

Jacob and I were out driving after an appointment yesterday, when I noticed some dark clouds forming in the sky. I wanted to arrive home before Jim and/or Adam, specifically so I could get one of the two spaces in the garage. Ever since Adam started driving, it has been somewhat first come-first serve as far as the prime indoor parking spots go at our house. Anyway, I did not want to get caught out in our driveway in a hailstorm, or in a raging downpour, and end up having to dash through the inclement weather to get inside. So, we plodded along, hoping to beat either Jim or Adam home.

When Jacob and I were about 6 or 7 miles from home, the wind abruptly picked up. Out of the blue, it was blowing at 30, 40, and then 50 miles per hour. I was pretty sure that my wind speed estimate was accurate because I had learned how to make approximate calculations at my National Weather Service class. Leaves and twigs were flying around everywhere, and it started to rain. Branches began snapping off trees. In about a one-mile stretch, we saw at least ten limbs break off of trunks as we drove by them. I decided that we should probably just stop and wait out the storm, quite possibly in a building, so we wouldn’t be battered by any errant branches. I headed towards a Kroger parking lot about 200 yards away. Without warning, the rain began to come down so fast and so hard that you honestly could not see a foot in front of the car. All the traffic on the road came to a complete stop. Several police cars went whizzing by at about 5 or 10 miles per hour, and I never did find out where they were heading. I also remembered that, as a good “weather spotter,” I should be contacting the NWS office with an immediate report on the extreme conditions, especially the winds, which I later learned were clocked at 60 m.p.h. But, alas, I didn’t have the “spotter” phone number with me, and, yes, I have since placed it in my purse.

The storm eased up a bit after about 10 minutes, and Jake and I were able to resume driving. We started counting downed tree branches, but quit after 30 or so. When we arrived home, Jim was already there. Jacob rushed inside to tell him our harrowing storm tale, but he was not very interested in hearing it. Evidently, Jim had just been in the basement and discovered that two of our sewer drains had backed up, and no amount of plunging or snaking was going to fix the problem. And it was a stinky problem, too. ICK! I contacted four or five different plumbers, but each one was “on another call” or “too busy to come tonight.” Jim finally called Roto Rooter, and they sent a guy over fairly quickly. Thirty minutes and $150 later, our drains were once again running smoothly. Jim did some massive cleaning downstairs, for which I am thankful, but I still intend to bleach the floor today. Fun times.

Jake and I saw this.

And this.

And this, too.

This was what the wind did to our deck furniture.